No Place Like Home
by Vanidot
Summary: After investigating a crime in a rural community of California's Napa Valley, the team is swept up in a rarely occurring Tornado. Lisbon awakens to find herself alone and must search for her companions. Whom else can she ask for help except the Great and Wonderful Wizard of… Oz?
1. OzCalifornia?, Chapter 1

**Title** : There's No Place like Home

 **Universe** : Crossover: The Mentalist: somewhere in the middle of Season 5, would take place between episodes; and Tin Man the Miniseries: takes place roughly one year after the story ends; Gratuitous mention of Due South, but only a brief mention.

 **Summary:** After investigating a crime in a rural community of California's Napa Valley, the team is swept up in a rarely occurring Tornado. Lisbon awakens to find herself alone and much search for her companions. Whom else can she ask for help except the Great and Wonderful Wizard of… Oz?

 **Pairings:** DG/Cain, Lisbon/Jane, Van Pelt/Rigsby

 **Acknowledgments** : I own nothing, though I seriously wish I did. This little tale is written for entertainment only. The Mentalist people own The Mentalist and the Tin Man people own Tin Man. They know who they are.

 **Rating** : General, all audiences, contains mild cursing and milder violence, definitely contains kissing and hand holding.

 **Author's Note** : Okay, this story's been rolling around in my noggin for a while now, despite my best attempts at ignoring it. I'm working on an original… or should be working on an original. I've been watching Tin Man again and only recently finished watching the Mentalist's wonderful ending. I guess the two was jumbled up in my brain because this story is the result. I can't watch Tin Man without seeing Zero as Ray Kowalski from Due south, granted an evil Ray but Ray nonetheless, hence the reference. I'm sorry if the story seems a bit rushed. I didn't want to delve into the minuteness of every detail but there were things that had to happen to get them to reach a point, which is why I told and not showed. I hope that you'll make it passed the first little bit to read the main body of the story. After all, that is the point. I had a riot writing this story. I hope others find it as enjoyable as I did. Thanks and TTFN.

*** The *** Mentalist/ *** Tin *** Man *** Crossover ***

There's No Place like Home,

a Mentalist/Tin Man Crossover,

Because there really needed to be at least one

She was sure she was dreaming, she had to be. There's no way Agent Teresa Lisbon of the California Bureau of Investigation could be 'here' if she wasn't. They'd been called out to a murder in a little out of the way rural community in the Napa Valley. The unincorporated town was barely a blip on the map and its only claim to fame was the murder the CBI team had been sent in to investigate.

Oz, it just had to be called Oz, didn't it? And of course, Jane would make a stupid comment about not being in Kansas anymore. It's bad enough the town had embraced its odd and only marginal connection to Braum's book from which they took their name.

It didn't help that there really was a Dorothy Gale, called DG by her friends, who worked at the Central City Café. Or that Sheriff Wyatt Cain, who looked more like Indiana Jones in his fedora and trench coat, also answered to the nickname 'Tin Man'. The mayor, who looked eerily like Richard Dreyfuss, and could easily pass for the Wizard of…. The local vet who looked every part the cowardly lion, without the cowardly. Then, there was the town's wacky inventor who, either went by the name Ambrose or Glitch, sometimes both, with frightening accuracy fit the part of the Scarecrow to perfection.

The moment she met the players in the farce, she'd fought the urge to get back into her car and leave the town and its odd inhabitants far, far behind. Jane had begged… no pleaded for them to take the case. Sherriff Cain wasn't much happier about it than Lisbon, but DG used the same 'puppy dog eyes' look on Cain that Jane had, only moments before, used on Lisbon.

Apparently, the murder was the most interesting thing to have happened in town in decades. Everyone brought out lawn chairs in order to watch as Lisbon's team worked. One couple even sold lemonade to the onlookers on their side of the street, while another passed out homemade sandwiches. Lisbon rolled her eyes when Jane bought some of each. Jane looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

'He would,' Lisbon had thought sullenly.

When Lisbon finally managed to get him to work, he made his usual off handed comments that got the ball rolling. Only in a town like this would people actually be excited to be interrogated. Lisbon was almost to the breaking point when the last of the 'villagers' had been interviewed. No one, but no one had seen anything useful to the investigation.

Jane was up to his usual tricks, keeping her in the dark until he requested that she gather the entire town at the baseball field. Lisbon wasn't sure what to think when the entire population filled the small section of bleachers available. As ever, Jane stirred things up by pointing out that DG's parents weren't her real parents.

He caused even more trouble when he revealed that her real parents were the daughter of the local big wig and the local artist, who'd been the town's equivalent of Romeo and Juliette, without the dying part. Their roles had been greatly reversed when her father lost his fortune and the artist, who went by the name Ahamo, had made his fortunes when his artwork finally paid off.

As it turned out, Ahamo – so named because her younger sister, Az, couldn't say Omaha which is where he was from, and 'Lavender Eyes' – his endearment for her – were still very much in love. DG and her parents' tearful reunion were put on hold when Jane's deductive skills were next aimed at the local mechanic.

Jane insisted that the man's New York accent didn't fool anyone, well; it didn't fool Jane at least. He'd called the man out for being an undercover cop from Chicago who either worked with or had worked with a Canadian Mounty named Frasier. The man, who currently went by the nickname, Zero, was flabbergasted, and asked Jane how he knew his partner's name was Frasier. Jane waved the question away with the off-handed remark that he'd only ever met one Canadian Mounty and his name happened to be Frasier, but that was a story for another time.

Jane finally pointed out the true culprit, Sherriff Cain's own son, Jeb, who'd killed the man who'd murdered his mother years prior. He also pointed out that the sheriff had covered up this fact to keep his son out of prison. Lisbon was ready to arrest them both when Jane told her not to bother since it had been in self-defense as the man had been about to shoot or rather had shot the elder Cain.

Lisbon asked Jane how long he'd known who the killer was. Jane brushed it off until Lisbon hit him in the shoulder, forcing him to tell her. Jane said he'd figured it out almost from the moment he'd shaken hands with the sheriff. Jane pointed out that the sheriff was right handed and yet he'd used his left hand to hide the fact that he'd been shot in the right shoulder.

At this revelation, DG had punched the sheriff in his good arm for keeping something like that from her. Lisbon wondered who'd called them in on the case in the first place. Jane pointed the finger at the mayor who revealed that he'd known the truth from the very beginning. Honestly, everyone in town knew the truth.

Lisbon had wondered aloud if she was the only one who felt as though the whole town seemed stuck in the fifties. Cho agreed while Rigsby pointed out it seemed more like something out of the 'Twilight Zone'. They were all ready to get out of dodge as soon as possible when the town air raid siren sounded off.

The Townspeople scattered, including the undercover policeman who'd been in town long enough to know the drill. Lisbon and her team were left standing around the empty ballpark when DG and Sheriff Cain urged them to seek shelter as well. Lisbon wouldn't budge until the couple, in every sense of the word despite their age gap, explained that the klaxon warned of an incoming tornado.

"California doesn't get Tornados," Lisbon scoffed at that until she saw for herself the quickly approaching Tornado on the horizon.

As they bolted for cover, DG tried to explain that while tornados were rare in much of California, Oz was a magnet for them.

'Oh, can this day get any worse?' Lisbon asked silently.

Apparently, it could because that was the last thing she remembered until she woke up here. 'Here' turned out to be the real Oz, or the O.Z. according to the inhabitants, of which Sherriff Cain, DG, and the rest of the townspeople they'd met on the 'other side' also seemed to inhabit. Cain and DG were there when Lisbon woke up, but the rest of her team had disappeared. DG suggested that they ask her mother, Lavender Eyes – her actual name as it turned out, where Lisbon could find her people.

Lisbon kept telling herself that this was all just a dream, but it only seemed to get worse. Cain, a real Tin Man – the O.Z.'s equivalent of law enforcement, and DG – who turned out to be the princess of the O.Z., her mother being the queen of course, led Lisbon through the O.Z., weird inhabitants and all, to Finaqua where her mother waited for them.

Unsure what else to do, Lisbon went along with it, certain at any moment she'd wake up with a nasty bump on her head and with any luck their case in Oz, Oz, California that is, would turn out to be nothing but a dream, a weird dream, as well. Therefore, when Queen Lavender Eyes suggested that Lisbon speak to the Wizard of Oz, she was even more convinced that this was just a dream.

Lisbon asked if DG and Cain would accompany her, the answer was that they would lead her to the 'Old Road' where she would have to make her own way to Central City.

"Some journeys must be traveled alone," The Queen's answer was predictably cryptic.

Before they parted ways, Cain told her that Jane had been correct. The dead man had killed Cain's first wife and that somehow, Zero, the real Zero, had escaped to the other side.

"How could you tell? His face was so messed up when we found him," Lisbon commented.

"Yeah, we kinda did that to help out Ray. Jane was right about him as well," DG pointed out.

"I don't understand," Lisbon frowned at them.

"Ray had followed someone, whom he'd been tracking for a while, to town. Only, one of the other fella's goons had recognized him and threatened to expose him if Ray didn't agree to his terms. When Jeb killed Zero, after Zero tried to kill me, we made it look like Ray Kowalski of the Chicago P.D. was the dead man. We didn't count on Mr. Jane," Cain explained.

"No, I mean, how could you tell Ray apart from Zero, they looked so much alike."

"That was easy," Cain explained. "I was his training instructor when he first joined the Long Coats, that's before the long coats chose the Witch over the Queen. That's when I joined the Mystic Man's rebellion. Anyway long story, the point is, while I was training Zero, I accidentally injured his left eye. Because of that, I think he blamed me for his first wife leaving him because of the scar. So, he took pleasure in paying me back when he found out I'd joined the rebellion."

"I don't remember him having a scar when we were fighting him before we rescued my sister from the witch," DG piped up.

"She must have magicked it because it wasn't there the last time we fought," Cain told DG. "When we went back for him after the witch was dead, it was back. After she melted, all of her magic was displaced."

"Come on, melted, really?" Lisbon couldn't help but ask.

Both of them looked at her seriously and nodded their heads simultaneously.

"Okay," Lisbon pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a major migraine coming on. "I'm not as good at deductions as Jane, are the two of you an item?"

Cain merely frowned at her, but DG grinned at Lisbon. When DG turned to look at Cain, she sighed and shook her head.

"It's 'other side' speak, Cain. She wants to know if we're together, as in a couple, as in seeing each other, as in dating…" DG grinned at her companion who clearly wasn't familiar with 'other side' terminology.

"Courting!" The light of dawning shone upon the man's brow at last. He raised DG's hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. "Yes, we're courting. Despite my son being closer to her age, DG chose to give her heart to me. Heck, she returned to me what had been lost, how could I not give her my heart in return?" Cain made known.

DG rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"He doesn't know it yet, but we're getting married soon," She grinned at Lisbon.

Cain frowned down at the younger woman.

"I thought you weren't ready for marriage yet."

"That was last year, I wasn't ready, then. Now, I'm ready," DG told him then turned back to Lisbon. "Just follow this road due north until you come to the field of the Papay. They're pretty tame now that the orchard's producing fruit again so you shouldn't have any problems, just don't take too much fruit or they might take it personally. From there, you should reach Central City by nightfall. When you get to the palace, tell Ambrose that you need to see the Mystic Man and he'll take you to him."

"So, you suddenly decide you're ready for marriage without discussing it with me first? Why is it that a perfect stranger hears of it before I do?" Cain had latched on to the previous subject like a pit bull and didn't appear to be letting go any time soon.

"Well, since you were standing right next to me, technically, you found out the same time Lisbon did. You often decide things without telling me first…" DG turned back to her boyfriend to continue the argument.

Lisbon just shook her head and walked away from the bickering couple. She'd say they were already married by the way they argued. It wasn't lost on her that they looked perfectly content with the way their relationship was going. Lisbon couldn't help compare them to her relationship with Jane. That thought scared her a little, while, at the same time, she wished Jane were with her at that moment.

"I really need to wake up soon, come on, please wake up soon!" Lisbon rubbed her temple, wondering if the O.Z. had the equivalent of an Exedrine for her ever-growing headache.

Thinking on this, she tripped and opened her eyes wondering when they'd closed. When she looked around to see what she'd stumbled over, she found a yellow brick sticking up out of the ground not far from where she'd tripped. Looking around, she saw more yellow bricks and sighed.

"This keeps getting better and better. It just had to be the Yellow Brick Road, didn't it?" Lisbon threw her hands up in the air and started walking again.

With any luck, the dream would skip ahead as they so often did. She wasn't sure how far she walked, but the dream had yet to skip and her feet were growing tired. Looking around for somewhere to stop and rest, she wished she had a bottle of water. The sound of a tree crashing to the ground nearby and the jolt of the ground shaking nearly knocked her off her feet.

"Timber," called a very monotone voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

"Hey! That could have killed me. Aren't you supposed to yell timber _before_ the tree falls?" Indignantly, Lisbon looked around for the lumberjack responsible for the unwanted jolt of adrenalin.

"Sorry, didn't expect anyone to be around. No one ever remembers me, I'm easy to forget," The voice never wavered an octave.

Lisbon bit her lip; she had a horrible feeling she knew exactly who this 'Eeyor' was. Out from behind uncut trees, a man dressed in a silver costume stepped onto the path wielding an ominous looking ax. Lisbon took in the man from his foot to the top of his silvery hat.

Lisbon couldn't hold back the hysterical fit of laughter that bubbled out from the tips of her toes. She knew he wouldn't be happy with her, but she was powerless to stop it. Given the day she was having, it only seemed natural to give in to a fit of the giggles.

"That figures, everyone always laughs at me," the Eeyor tin man stated.

"Cho, seriously… what are… you doing… dressed like that?" Lisbon gasped, trying to regain control of herself once more.

"All woodsmen look like this in Oz," Cho, but not Cho, looked down at his appearance before looking up at her with a straight face.

Lisbon frowned and straightened up, her laughter instantly forgotten.

"What did you just say?"

"All woodsmen…" he repeated himself.

"You said Oz, not O.Z. You called it Oz," She felt the furrows of her brows deepen, which only served to make her headache worse.

"So," Tin man Cho stated as he set the head of his ax on the ground and leaned against the handle.

"So? DG, Cain, and Queen Lavender Eyes all called this place the O.Z., not Oz. Oz is what we call it on the 'other side'," Lisbon said as she walked up to Cho. She poked him in the chest to find him just as flesh and blood as she was.

"Okay, this is getting a little too weird even for me. Cho, did Jane put you up to this?" She demanded. "Okay, Jane, this isn't funny anymore. It's time to come out now and unhypnotize me."

"Are you off to see the Wizard?" If Cho hadn't said that in complete deadpan, Lisbon would have burst out laughing again, only she was no longer in a laughing mood. She turned to glare at him.

"Sure, why not?" She sighed in resignation. "Yes, I'm off to see the Wizard and you're coming with me."

"Okay, Boss," Cho kicked his ax up into the air and tossed it at a nearby tree. It flew end over end a few times before striking the heart of the tree and sticking fast.

She could only stare at him.

"Cho, you just called me boss," Lisbon pointed out.

He looked at her then, "I always call you boss."

"Yes, you do. Come on, I want to find a way out of here as soon as possible." She moved passed him heading down the road in the direction in which DG had indicated. She knew that Cho followed close behind. With any luck, finding the others wouldn't be difficult either.


	2. Not in Kanas, Chapter2

There's No Place like Home

Chapter 2

Still trudging onward, she wasn't sure how much time had passed before they heard what sounded like a rumbling. She had begun to feel a little peckish, but she doubted her stomach was making that much noise. She looked over at Cho. He looked like he always did and shrugged his shoulders.

"Wasn't me," he stated.

Lisbon stopped and looked around for the noise. She seriously wished she'd made Cho keep the ax as neither of them had their guns on them.

"What was it? Lions, Tigers, and bears? Just what I need," Lisbon groaned. "Please, just once, don't let there be any of the above." She cast a prayer to whatever powers that be that controlled dreams to go easy on her. She'd had her share of nightmares and this dream was bad enough as it was without throwing those into the mix.

"It was me," a familiar voice spoke from somewhere out of sight.

"Rigsby?!" Lisbon frowned, "Where are you?" She looked around from where the voice came.

"Stand here, they said, scare off the crows, they said, never once did they offer me something to eat, no," the voice continued to speak as if not hearing her. "They only thought about what the crows would do to the corn. They didn't once think about what the corn would do to me. If only I had a fire, I could make popcorn. Yeah, that would be great. Popcorn! That would take the edge off until my shift is over."

Lisbon motioned to Cho and headed off in the direction she thought the voice was coming from. They found him standing in the middle of a field. At another time, Lisbon might have laughed at Rigsby too. He wore a straw hat, a flannel shirt that had seen better days, and a pair of overalls that had more patches than original fabric. He had a piece of straw sticking out of his mouth as he gnawed on the other end.

"Rigsby, what on earth are you doing?"

"Oh, hey, Boss, Cho, I'm trying to light a fire," Rigsby looked up at them before returning his attention to what he was doing before they arrived.

"With what? You don't smoke and you're not likely to find flint rocks in the middle of a field," Cho finally said something that sounded more Cho like.

"Don't worry about it, I've got it covered," Rigsby said seriously.

"Don't you need a magnifying glass or something," Cho crossed his arms. At least one thing hadn't changed.

"I'm starting a fire with my mind," Rigsby said as though he firmly believed it.

"Did the Wizard trick you again? The last time I checked, you don't have a brain, I'm still called 'Iceman', and Van Pelt… well Van Pelt is Van Pelt," Cho said.

"You know where Van Pelt is? Where is she?" Lisbon spun on her subordinate and glared at him for not having mentioned it sooner.

"Yeah, where is Van Pelt?" Rigsby parroted before Lisbon elbowed him in the stomach. "What do you mean I don't have a brain?" Rigsby looked even more confused than normal.

Before anyone else could reply, they heard a rustling in close proximity. Whatever it was, it sounded big as it sped passed them. The three of them looked in opposite directions hoping to see whatever it was. They still hadn't located it yet when it whooshed by them again from the opposite direction.

"Oh my!" Rigsby gulped and backed away from whatever it was. He was a few feet away from the others when suddenly he disappeared like a bad shark movie.

"Dammit, I so do not need this right now. Where's my gun when I need it?" She cursed as she and Cho charged forward. Out of nowhere, Cho pulled a gun and aimed it down at the ground where Rigsby lay sprawled on his back.

Lisbon knew her mouth was open; if ever she understood the meaning of slack-jawed, it was now. Sitting on top of Rigsby's chest, looking a bit more Tigger who'd pounced on Winnie the Pooh than her go-getter junior agent, was Grace Van Pelt, complete with cat suit and… did her tail just wag?

"Hi, Lover, did you miss me?" Grace gave Rigsby a Cheshire cat-like grin as she purred at him.

"Oh hi, Grace, we were just talking about you," Rigsby smiled up at his girlfriend.

"Hi, Boss, don't mind us," Grace waved at Lisbon without looking up.

"Van Pelt, get off of him," Lisbon ordered.

Grace pouted for half a second before her new Tigger persona returned.

"Were you scared? Did you figure out it was me? I scared ya, didn't I?" Grace leapt off Rigby's chest and popped up behind first Lisbon's back, then Cho's, before returning to Lisbon.

"I wasn't scared," Rigsby said as Cho helped him to his feet.

"Neither was I," Cho dusted off his friend. "You're the one who's supposed to be afraid of her own shadow."

"I am not!" Grace declared, although she grabbed her flicking tail, pulled it a little tighter to her chest, and looked nervously over Lisbon's shoulder. "Why am I the cowardly lion again?"

"You're the only one who looked good in the cat-suit and it was the only costume the Wizard had left," Cho stated.

Lisbon choked back the chortle that escaped her throat before she could completely catch it.

"I think it's sexy," Rigsby stated.

Grace purred again and temporarily forgot her fears to cuddle up to her boyfriend.

"I so need to wake up now!" Lisbon groaned as she watched the sickeningly gushy couple.

"Can I shoot them?" Cho asked.

Lisbon glared at the couple, but shook her head.

"Tch," he complained and reholstered his weapon.

"Three out of four isn't bad. Now, we just have to locate Jane and find the way out of here," She said to no one in particular. "Okay," she told her team, feeling better now that they had her back once more, "Let's move out."

"Are we going somewhere?" Grace wanted to know.

"Central City," Cho stated as he followed Lisbon.

"Yay! We're off to see the Wizard," Grace bounced happily at Rigsby's side.

Lisbon stopped suddenly, making the other three run into each other's backs like a bad comedy skit.

"If anyone starts singing 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' I will shoot them!" Lisbon cast a threatening glare over her shoulder. Three innocent pairs of eyes stared back at her so she nodded and headed back towards the road. So far, no one had broken out into song and she wanted to keep it that way.

Cho walked behind Lisbon while Rigsby walked hand-in-hand with Grace who skipped happily along beside him. Lisbon wasn't certain how much longer it would be before they reached the fields of the Papay, but the smell of flowers and fruit in the air told her they were close. Allowing them a brief respite, she repeated DG's warning and picked some of the fruit for herself. She wasn't sure what the Papay were exactly, but DG's advice held an ominous note and Lisbon didn't want to stay there any longer than necessary.

"This is even better than corn and I didn't have to light a fire to eat it," Rigsby said picking another piece from a nearby tree.

"Dammit, Rigsby, I told you not to eat so much," Lisbon barked at him.

"But they're so small," Rigsby complained.

Attracted either by the noise or by the fact that Rigsby was the glutton that he ever was, things that originally looked like shrubs slowly stalked towards the group of humans.

"Okay, I think that's our signal to leave," Lisbon stood and slowly backed away from the approaching creatures that looked as though they were made out of twisted driftwood.

Her team followed suit and they slowly made their escape, unwilling to risk turning their backs on the enemy. Cho reached for his weapon, but Lisbon held her hand out to stop him.

"Don't antagonize them any further. DG made them sound peaceful enough. I just think we overstayed our welcome," Lisbon cautioned.

"Uh, Boss…," Rigsby called.

Sighing in frustration, Lisbon cast a glance over her shoulder. As if things couldn't get any worse, she saw that they'd backed themselves right up to the edge of a cliff.

"I ever mention I really don't like heights?" Rigsby wondered.

"I don't think now is the time to press our luck by asking the stick monsters if they'll let us go around," Lisbon stated. "It's not my first choice either, but it looks like jumping is our only option."

"Come on, Rigsby, its fun," Grace was the first to take the plunge.

"I thought cats were normally afraid of water," Cho stated.

"Since when has Van Pelt ever done normal?" Lisbon commented, "Okay on the count of three. One…"

"Two…"

"Three…," Rigsby counted off and the three of them jumped in after Van Pelt.

Hitting the water from such a great height forced the air out of Lisbon's lungs. She fought back the typical disorientation brought on by panic. Forcing her mind to clear, Lisbon righted herself and clawed her way to the surface. Gasping for air the moment her head broke through the water, Lisbon sucked cool air into her burning lungs.

As the panic subsided, Lisbon looked around for the other members of her team. Cho and Van Pelt were already on land helping Rigsby out of the water. Lisbon took a deep breath and swam over to the shore. When she reached the edge of the waterfall-carved pool, Cho pulled her onto dry ground.

After a brief rest, they began searching for any sign of yellow brick, hoping to spot the trail once more. If they couldn't find it soon, Lisbon feared that her secret would get out. Since the advent of GPS, she never had to worry, as long as her cell phone had service. Not only was there no service in this place, her phone was now water logged.

"Over here, I found it!" Rigsby's voice echoed through the forest that ran along the water's edge.

Lisbon used sounds of voices to locate her team. Luckily, in her current position, she had been able to bluff her way through without anyone being the wiser. She had a suspicion that Jane knew, but she would never admit the truth, especially not to him. When she rounded a tree that was as big around as her SUV, she discovered that Cho and Van Pelt had already joined Rigsby.

"How do we know where to go?" Rigsby wondered.

"DG told us to follow the 'old road' to Central City," Lisbon repeated the instructions she'd been given.

"River's back there," Cho pointed over his shoulder in the direction from which they'd already come.

"Then we head that way," Lisbon pointed in the opposite direction. Cho was a veritable walking compass, so he never got lost. She relied on his senses more than anyone else's.

God willing, there would be no further holdups as they headed towards Central City. She tried in vain to ignore the strange twist of fate that turned her team into characters from a storybook. Suddenly, Lisbon realized that made her Dorothy and she wondered if her life could get any worse.

"I'm tired," Grace complained.

"I'm hungry," Rigsby added his complaint as well.

"We don't have time for this," Lisbon sighed in frustration.

"Look," Cho pointed to a sign indicating a small path off the main thoroughfare.

"Milltown, that's a nice normal sounding name," Van Pelt stated.

"From what I've witnessed so far, the O. Z. is far from normal," Lisbon sighed and shook her head again.

She didn't want to get off track, but her feet were killing her and she knew they could all use a rest. Looking around for a landmark, Lisbon couldn't find anything except the road sign. She bent down to gather some rocks and found two large sticks. Since Cho hadn't moved since the four of them stopped, she used him as an anchor point.

To the side of the road, so they wouldn't get disturbed, she laid the rocks out in a row. Placing the sticks in the opposite direction of where Cho's stood, she made an arrow pointing towards Central City.

As she stood and looked down at her handiwork, something still seemed missing. She grabbed the hat off Rigsby's head and stuck it on the stone monument that doubled as a road sign. To keep it from blowing away, she placed a flat, heavy stone on top.

"All right, let's see if we can find the town. We could all use something to eat and drink, but if we don't find it in a few miles, we'll head back and continue on towards Central City," Lisbon acquiesced. Despite their odd costumes, everyone acted as though they were back in the bullpen as normal.

It was another hour or so before they reached the town. Every foot that took them farther from the road, made Lisbon want to turn back. As she was about to do just that, she saw a billboard in the least likely of places.

"Everything's better in Milltown!" Declared the sign that looked straight out of the 1950s. Unlike the sign, the town looked like something out of a TV Western. A new coat of paint, flowers blooming in window boxes, and fresh calico curtains made the town look recently revitalized.

"This time, don't do anything to provoke the locals," Lisbon commanded as the four of them made their way toward the center of town. Before they passed the first row of buildings, doors on both sides of the street opened simultaneously and the townspeople poured out into the open.

"Welcome Travelers of the Realm!" Cheered a man who looked more like a floating electric screwdriver.

"They're robots," Rigsby whispered behind her.

Placing a hand on Cho's arm so he couldn't draw his weapon, Lisbon asked the apparent leader, "You know about us?"

"Of course," said a man Lisbon recognized as DG's foster father. "Baby Girl called to say you might stop by and she asked us to give you all the help you needed."

"We could use a rest and something to eat and drink, if you have it," Lisbon sized up the crowd.

"Of course, come on in. Make yourselves at home," DG's foster father motioned towards the building from which he'd exited.

Lisbon recognized DG's foster mother as the one who'd sold lemonade during their investigation on the 'other side'. The woman who'd sold sandwiches was also there. Lisbon held up a hand to their eager hosts.

Turning back to her team, she drew them into a huddle. "Okay, listen up. I don't want anyone going anywhere on their own. I don't trust these people as far as I can throw them. We need to stay together, but if something does happen and we are separated, we should meet back at the road. If an hour passes, and no one's shown up yet, head to Central City and find the Wizard. We'll all meet at his place, got it?"

"Got it, Boss," Cho nodded his head.

"You got it, Boss," Grace confirmed. The three of them turned to look at Rigsby.

"Why would you want to throw these people?" Rigsby frowned.

Lisbon glared at him.

"Right, got it, Boss, old road, Wizard," Rigsby nodded in understanding.

"Good," Lisbon nodded; happy they were all on the same page. She then turned back towards DG's foster parents and followed them inside.


	3. Off to see the Wizard, Chapter 3

There's No Place like Home

Chapter 3

An hour later, saw them back on the road with a sack of food and canteens for each of them, courtesy of DG's foster parents. Despite expecting something else to go wrong at any moment, they didn't meet any more trouble for the rest of their journey. Just as DG said, they reached Central City as the twin suns were beginning to set.

Finding the palace was relatively easy. When they saw soldiers standing guard on either side of the massive doors, Lisbon held her hand out to her team to wait at the foot of the steps. When she reached the top, the guards did as expected, barring her way.

"Agent Teresa Lisbon, CBI. I'm here to see Ambrose," Lisbon pulled out her badge. When they didn't let her pass, she added, "The Queen sent me."

The two guards snapped to attention and uncrossed their halberds as the massive green doors swung open. Lisbon turned back to her team and motioned for them to follow.

"They're with me," Lisbon told the guards, but they remained unresponsive sentinels at their posts.

No one tried to stop the four CBI agents as they entered the palace. They might have been walking into their office back at headquarters, except they didn't work here.

In the middle of the room, a grand staircase rose gracefully into the air about fifteen feet from the ground floor. It stopped at a landing before dividing into two equal portions one-half going left while the other half arched right. A giant stained-glass window spilled its rainbow of colors over everything.

As for the first floor, it was packed with cubicles, desks, and other office paraphernalia that was both as familiar as it was alien to Lisbon.

"Somebody find me the results of the soil samples for the Papay fields that I ordered. Moreover, I want to know how repairs to the Sunseeder are going, ASAP. We need it up and running before the start of the growing season within the next year," a familiar voice echoed through the enormous space. "Chop, chop, people! Just because the wicked witch is dead, that's no excuse to slack off. Queen Lavender Eyes expects everything to be in tiptop shape before her rewedding."

Lisbon spotted the wacky inventor from the 'other side' that had answered to both Ambrose and Glitch and made her way over to him. He stood close to the middle of the room, slightly off to the left. He was glancing over some papers, which he then signed.

"Advisor Ambrose?" Lisbon asked as he handed the papers back to the assistant who went back to doing whatever he was doing before.

"Yes, what can I do for you, Doll?"

"Don't call me, Doll, for one," Lisbon flashed him her badge, "Agent Teresa Lisbon of the CBI. These are my people, Kimball Cho – the tin man, Wayne Rigsby – the scarecrow, and the cowardly lion clinging to him is Grace Van Pelt. DG told me you could help us find the Wizard of Oz."

Despite her irritation, Lisbon fought hard to keep a straight face as she spoke. She wasn't sure what she wanted more at that moment, to give into another fit of hysteric giggles or burst into tears. Disliking either option, she kept her stoic facade firmly rooted in place.

"You must mean the Mystic Man. Sure, I know where he is. I'm too busy to leave the palace right now. As you can see, things are still a bit hectic after we finally managed to defeat the wicked witch."

"I'm sure we can find him ourselves if you just tell us where to find him," Lisbon wasn't too keen on waiting any longer than they had to.

"I can do you one better," Ambrose picked up an Art Deco-style phone on a nearby desk and spoke into the receiver, "Would you please tell Cain that Glitch wants him?"

Lisbon waited until he'd hung up the phone before commenting, "Sheriff…, I mean Mr. Cain is back in Finaqua with DG."

Ambrose merely smiled at her.

"Ambrose, your zipper's come undone again," stated a voice she vaguely recognized. As the young man appeared at Ambrose's elbow, she recognized him as Jeb, Wyatt Cain's son.

"I was wondering why it was drafty in here," Ambrose frowned and once more pulled closed the zipper on his head. "I'd better be more careful. Now that I got all my marbles back, I can't afford to lose them again."

"They said you wanted to see me," Curious, Jeb looked up at Ambrose.

The younger man wore a similar outfit as his father, with one distinction. Jeb's coat proudly bore a tin star.

"Agent Lisbon here is looking for the Mystic Man. Until the repairs on the administrative wing are complete, it's a positive mad house in here. I'm understaffed and backed up as it is…" Although he'd gotten off to a good start, Ambrose veered suddenly off-topic and continued rambling.

"Need a laxative there, Glitch?" Jeb asked straight-faced though his eyes twinkled mischievously.

Ambrose continued talking for a while and didn't seem to notice until his brain finally caught up.

"You Cain men think you're so funny!" Ambrose/Glitch shot back. "What was I talking about? I lost my train of thought."

"I think you jumped tracks a long time ago," Jeb grinned.

At the sad look that crossed Ambrose's face, Lisbon wondered if he understood the good-natured intent of his friend's teasing.

"The Wizard/Mystic Man," Lisbon offered a reminder.

"That's right! Can you escort Agent Lisbon and her team to the Mystic Man's palace?"

"Sure, Ambrose," the younger man also seem to notice his friend's distress. He clapped a hand on the older man's shoulder, "Sorry, I should have been more understanding. I know with Raw off visiting family and Dad and DG away, you have your hands full. Things ought to cool down after the Queen and the Prince Consort are remarried and DG's crowned thereafter. Tutor should be back from inspecting the mines soon. I'm sure he'll be a big help when he returns. With you still having memory problems after getting your brain back, the Queen told you to take a break as often as you needed. She doesn't expect you to be the same old Ambrose you were before the witch stole your marbles."

"Thanks, Jeb," Ambrose gave a sad sort of smile. "All right, people," Ambrose clapped his hands once more to get everyone's attention. "Finish what you are currently doing and then we'll call it a day." Ambrose headed back to his office, leaving Jeb and the others in his wake.

"Come on," Jeb turned back to Lisbon after watching his friend walk away. "I'll take you to the Mystic Man."

"The evil witch really removed his brain?" Lisbon frowned in disbelief.

Jeb nodded, "Her Medicoats did. They were able to replace it, but he still isn't quite all there 100% of the time. I think he's hardest on himself."

"So, is his name Ambrose or Glitch?"

"When he was still the Queen's most trusted adviser, his name was Ambrose. After the witch's Medicoats removed half of his brain, he went by the name Glitch. Now, he answers to both. I think he gets more flustered when DG isn't around to keep him straight. Things probably won't settle back down until after DG takes the throne later this month," Jeb explained as he escorted them to the door.

"DG is going to be crowned even though the Queen's still alive?"

"Normally, no, but there are extenuating circumstances. Since the Queen's eldest daughter was possessed by an evil witch, Azkadellia won't be able to inherit, as the other nobles won't allow it. Thanks to the Queen's imprisonment for so many years, she's too weak to fulfill all that being Queen requires. Since the Queen gave DG all of her magic, it was decided that DG will become the new Queen. When Queen Lavender Eyes takes Ahamo as her husband again, she plans to place the crown on DG's head before the wedding ceremony. Once DG officially becomes Queen, she can choose her own husband."

"I think she already has. She claims that she and your dad are going to be married," Lisbon revealed to gauge his reaction. "That doesn't surprise you?"

Jeb merely shrugged his shoulders. "Dad had ten years to mourn my mother's death. We were both led to believe that the other was dead. Besides, DG makes him happy. How can I deny him that after she rescued him from the hell in which he'd been forced to live?"

"She can't be that much older than you. That doesn't bother you?"

"The fact that she's only three years older than me, yeah, it bothered me a little. Around here, it's not unusual to marry young. Believe it or not, Dad's only fourteen years older than she is."

"Cain must have married _really_ young," Lisbon exclaimed.

"He's thirty-five, so he would've been about seventeen or eighteen. About the same age I am, though I'm not in a hurry to get married. My parents married the same year he became a tin man."

"Don't you have to go to school to become a law enforcement officer?"

"They don't have on-the-job training on the other side?"

"To be a cop, you have to at least go to Police Academy, but these days they like you to already have a higher education," Lisbon explained.

"Most of us are lucky if we simply learned how to read and write. Education wasn't a high priority with the wicked witch," Jeb explained, then frowned. "What's a Police Academy?"

"It's a school where you learn about police procedures and the law. Without it, things would be a bit like the Old West."

Jeb merely looked at her in confusion.

"From what I've heard since I arrived in the O.Z., our Old West was kind of like the way things used to be before you got rid of the evil witch."

The light of dawning spread across Jeb's features and he reminded Lisbon of his father.

"I'll have to ask DG about this Police Academy, sounds like it might be useful. As for me, I've been a part of the resistance since I was eight years old, so I guess I'm qualified."

"That young!?"

"Mama didn't want me having any part of it, at first, didn't even want dad a part of it. I was eight when Zero and his goons attacked. After that, mom taught me how to shoot and we joined the resistance. She said she didn't want anyone else to suffer the way we'd suffered. That's what we did for the next eight years until Zero found us again. He killed my mother and locked me in one of those iron suits. I remained locked in that thing until someone from the resistance came looking when they hadn't heard from us in a while. It doesn't compare to the ten years my father spent in one, but for six months I repeatedly had to watch Zero murder my mother," Jeb explained. Since they were following him, they stopped when he halted.

Lisbon put a hand on his arm, "I'm sorry. I guess if that had happened to me, I too would stop at nothing to get the man responsible."

"I tried once before, but Dad stopped me from killing him. Instead, Dad locked Zero in one of those iron suits until we freed Azkadellia from the evil witch. We were transporting him from where we left him back to Central City when he escaped. Apparently, there were still those who were loyal to the witch, because, somehow, Zero escaped through a travel storm. We only just tracked him to the other side, when that Kowalski guy came to town. He was forced to tell us the truth when we mistook him for Zero, then, you guys showed up," Jeb revealed.

"So, Oz…?"

"A ghost town, only a few stragglers were living there when we arrived."

"Then, everything was a lie?"

"A charade, perhaps, but not a complete lie. The place looked so much like Milltown that we brought some of them over to round out the cast until we located Zero and could conclude our business over there. Judging by the pictures that were left behind, there were people who really looked like us so it wasn't difficult to fill their roles. There was even a lawman by the name of Wyatt Cain at one time. The way the Mystic Man explained things; the O.Z. is on another plane of existence. Ahamo, that's DG's father, came from the 1800's, the Mystic Man said he came from the 1930s, and when DG came over, it was 2007."

"And we're from 2013," Lisbon was flabbergasted, "Time really is relative."

"At least in the O.Z.," Jeb stated. "It's all beyond my ken. We're almost to the place where the Mystic Man holds court. Do you think you can go on from here or do you need to rest a while?"

"We can rest later. I need to find Jane," Lisbon was adamant.

"You know the Mystic Man?"

"No, but the Queen said he may be able to help me find my other colleague," Lisbon replied.

Jed continued leading them through the city to a seedier part of town. Lisbon wondered how much farther when blaring neon lights caught her eye. 'Mystic Man's Palace' sparkled in large letters like something from the Vegas strip.

"You've got to be kidding!" Lisbon groaned in disgust.

"Come on, his act should be just about over," Jeb led the way towards the building and got them inside.

Through the press of people, it was hard to see the stage. Lisbon didn't have to see the Mystic Man to know 'who' it was. She should have known. All the signs were there, but she couldn't help roll her eyes at the revelation.

'Oh, why did it have to be him?'

"You said you were taking us to see the Mystic Man," dumbly, Lisbon heard herself saying.

"Yeah, Patrick Jane _is_ the Mystic Man. I thought you knew that," Jeb stated.

Lisbon shook her head, "I was expecting Richard Dreyfuss."

"Who?" Jeb frowned in confusion.

"The mayor of Oz, from the other side," Lisbon clarified.

"Oh, we mistook him for our former Mystic Man because they look so much alike. No, he was just one of the vagrants who were already there when we arrived. Our former Mystic Man was one of the witch's victims. He died one and a half annuals ago," Jeb told her.

"There's someone in the audience who's looking for someone, someone very important to them," what Jane was saying broke through the lull in their conversation. All eyes in their little group turned towards Lisbon. "You're looking for someone you've lost," thanks to the microphone, Jane's voice boomed in the sudden silence.

"Over here," Rigsby pointed to Lisbon.

"I'm sensing that you were recently in a Tornado and became separated from your loved one. He wants you to know that you're very important to him as well," Jane continued his psychic shtick. She felt heat rise to her cheeks even as she rolled her eyes.

"He wants Tereza to know that he loves her very much."

Lisbon's cheeks flushed a darker crimson as a spotlight suddenly shown on her.

"Dammit, Jane!" Lisbon exploded out of frustration, though she wouldn't admit there was a little a bit of relief mixed in.

"Sorry, Folks, that's my cue. The Mystic Man will not be back tonight," Jane finally ended his act. A chorus of disappointment went up as he replaced the microphone back in its stand and jumped down off the stage. He signaled to someone and the spotlight was turned off.

"Hi, guys!" Jane greeted when he stopped before them.

Lisbon punched him in the shoulder.

"Okay, I deserved that," Jane winced and rubbed the spot that she hit. "What else was I supposed to do when I found myself here and people started calling me the Mystic Man? I've been here for almost a month and I had to do _something_."

"I've been out standing in that field for the last two weeks," Rigsby added his two cents. "Or is it outstanding?"

"I've been here three," Cho stated.

"A week and a half," Van Pelt made known.

"I woke up two days ago," Lisbon shook her head in surprise.

Things were not turning out the way she had hoped they would. Not knowing what else to do, she hauled back and punched Jane in the other shoulder for good measure.

"Tereza, Tereza, Tereza, such violence. What have I done to engender such ire from you?" Jane was curious to know.

"The Queen told me that the Mystic Man could tell me how to get home. How are we supposed to do that, if 'you're' the Mystic Man?"

"Don't worry, I've got it covered."

"You got it covered?"

"Yeah, I got it covered," Jane assured her, though it was little comfort.

"How?"

"Woman, have a little faith, please. When I have let you down?" Jane asked seriously.

Lisbon merely looked at him.

"Okay, when have I disappointed you _lately_?" Jane reworded the question.

"So, you have a plan?" Lisbon couldn't argue there.

"I always have a plan," Jane stated.

"Okay, then tell me, how do we get home," Lisbon wanted to know.

"It's easy," Jane shrugged his shoulders.

"Easy? Please enlighten me, then," Lisbon was growing tired of playing his game.

"Not in here, let's go somewhere a little more private," Jane expertly evaded the question.

"Well, since you found who you were looking for, I'm gonna head back to the palace. I promised Dad that I'd keep an eye on Ambrose for him," Jeb bid them farewell.

"Bye, and thank you," Lisbon said gratefully.

"Glad to be of help," Jeb shook each of their hands.

"Maybe we'll see you around some time," Jane said.

"Sure, next time you find yourself caught in a travel storm, look us up. I'm sure DG would be happy to have you," Jeb offered before heading back to the palace.


	4. Home is Where the Heart is, Chapter 4

There's No Place like Home

Chapter 4

Lisbon and the others turned to Jane for guidance as he led them towards the dressing rooms back stage.

"Apparently, my predecessor was something of a scientist and left behind meticulous notes. According to his research, all of the humans that live in the O.Z. were originally from earth. Anyone sucked into a Tornado on the 'other side' are safely deposited here."

"All of them? What about Jeb?"

"Obviously, some are born here, but somewhere down the line a Cain from our world was deposited here and became Cain's ancestor."

"What if Sheriff Wyatt Cain from the other side was Cain's ancestor? The whole town practically vanished back in the 50s."

"Wouldn't that make the original Cain the current Cain's father?" Rigsby wanted to know.

"Not necessarily. Judging by his dress, the telltale facial hair, and manner of speech, I'd say Ahamo is from roughly the Civil War era. My predecessor appears to have been a vaudevillian, before going on the Circus route then eventually winding up here. As to DG and her mother's lineage, it extends several hundred years, or annuals as they call it – though time doesn't seem to move the same here, their progenitor was most likely a victim of the dust bowl if the stories are accurate. The year in which a person leaves our world doesn't seem to affect the timeframe in which they arrive here."

"Just a roll of the dice, then," Cho commented.

"Well if that be the case, DG could've been sent anywhere in time instead of roughly fifteen annuals after her father took her to Kansas," Lisbon objected. Physics was never a favorite subject of hers in school.

"Not really, see, people from here summoned a travel storm through which DG traveled. They had to keep the storm active in order to be able to return to the same time and place from which they'd left."

"They have a machine that lets them summon travel storms… I mean tornados?"

"Apparently," Jane agreed.

"Cool," Rigsby exclaimed.

"Great," Lisbon rolled her eyes. "How do we summon one to take us home?"

"Oh, we don't need one," Jane held open the door for them through which everyone filed. Lisbon found herself standing on the roof, which looked a lot like Jane's hidey-hole back at CBI headquarters.

"Then how do we get back, Jane?" Lisbon watched as he shut the door before joining them.

"Simple, really," Jane stopped at her elbow and whispered the answer in her ear.

Although she'd been doing it a lot lately, Lisbon couldn't prevent herself from groaning and rolling her eyes for the billionth time that day.

"There is no way I'm saying ' _That_ **'**!"

"Fine, then we're stuck here," Jane replied.

"I don't want that, either."

"Then you have to say it."

"We could…"

"Nope."

"Well, what about…?"

"No, that won't work either," Jane shook his head.

"How do you know?"

"Because, I've memorized all of the Mystic Man's notes. This is the only way," Jane persisted.

"Don't I need ruby slippers for this to work?"

"Silver," Van Pelt spoke up. "The original slippers in the books were silver. The red shoes were a movie gimmick."

"Okay, silver then. I doubt it will work without the magic slippers," Lisbon looked down at her feet and saw that she was already wearing silver shoes. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Lisbon had said that a billion times today too. Maybe that's why her feet had been hurting her all day, but why hadn't she noticed them before?

"See, you already have what you need to get home," Jane told her.

"What about the rest of you? There's no way I'm leaving any of you behind."

Jane reached out and took her hand, as well as Grace's, Grace slipped her arm through Rigsby's, Rigsby clapped a hand on Cho's shoulder, and Cho took Lisbon's other hand.

"And I'm just supposed to say three magic words?" Lisbon thought it sounded a little too good to be true.

"Click your heels together then say the magic words three times," Jane repeated his instructions.

"Oh, God! I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Lisbon groaned again.

"Hurry up or you'll miss the end," Jane urged.

"What?" She frowned at him, uncertain she'd heard him right.

"This is the best part," Jane squeezed her hand.

Lisbon sighed and shook her head.

"If any of you tell anyone back at HQ about this, I will personally shoot you," Lisbon threatened the group as a whole.

"Such violence, Woman, can we just do this, please?"

Lisbon closed her eyes, shook her head again, and clicked her heels, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home."

Lisbon felt herself start to fall and she squeezed Jane's hand tighter even as she felt Cho's slip out of hers. She tried reaching for it again, but she couldn't find him. The vertigo grew worse as she continued to fall and she grabbed hold of her only anchor with both hands.

"Please don't let go!" She pleaded with Jane as she squeezed her eyes tighter. She felt Jane wrap an arm around her and held her tight until the inevitable crash back to earth.

"Welcome home!" Lisbon thought she heard Ahamo's voice and, for a brief moment, panic rose up in her throat.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to find herself in her apartment, sitting on her couch with her head leaning against Jane's shoulder as the last few minutes of the movie 'Tin Man' played on her television screen.

"Oh, thank God! It was just a dream," Lisbon sighed in relief, belatedly, wondering if she'd spoken aloud.

"Now, that's the O.Z. I remember," DG, played by Zooey Deschanel said as her family watched the twin suns reemerge from behind the moon. "I'm so glad to be home," she added before the movie faded and the end credits began to roll.

Relieved, Lisbon sighed, rubbed her eyes, and sat up straighter. While Jane's shoulder was comfortable, their relationship wasn't to the point where she could lay a permanent claim to it yet. Her brain worked overtime trying to regain its bearings. She still felt disoriented as the last vestiges of the movie-induced dream began to fade.

They really had investigated the little town called Oz in the Napa Valley with a real death, but that's where any similarities ended. Jane claimed he had no knowledge of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which had started the whole mess.

Instead of an after case pizza back at CBI headquarters, they'd all opted to get Chinese takeout and go to Lisbon's for a movie marathon. It was a long weekend after all, and they deserved it for catching the bad guys. After watching the Judy Garland version, Grace insisted they watch 'Tin Man' as well because it was her favorite.

There had been a discussion as to which of the team best fit the various roles. Lisbon didn't remember when she'd fallen asleep, but their conversation must have worked its way into her subconscious, as everyone played the characters they'd decided upon in her dream. Lisbon had originally chosen to be the tin man, but that was quickly overruled. The vote was unanimous in that Jane was definitely the Wizard of Oz. Lisbon couldn't stop the giggle that escaped as she looked around the room.

"Where did everyone go?" She tried to pretend that such a girlish sound didn't come from her throat.

"Cho said he wanted to hit the hay early. Grace mentioned that she'd bought a cat-suit for Halloween one year, and of course, Rigsby wanted her to model it for him," Jane chuckled. "You seemed to be having a nice dream."

"Nightmare, more like it," Lisbon shot back as she turned off the TV and DVD player.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not on your life," Lisbon rolled her eyes before quickly changing the subject, "So, what did you think?"

"Musicals are not really my cup of tea, but 'Tin Man' was good," Jane acknowledged.

"I can't believe you never saw it when it originally aired. Did your cable provider not have the sci-fi channel back in '07?" Lisbon looked up at Jane as he stood.

He froze for a second or two before straightening his suit coat, trying not to look uncomfortable.

Immediately, she realized her blunder, but it was too late to take it back.

"I was in a locked room for much of '07. Televisions don't really go with the padded decor," barely audible, his voice was hoarse with emotion, even as he tried to make a joke of it.

Lisbon jumped to her feet and put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Jane, that was thoughtless of me."

Jane merely nodded his head and kept his back to her.

She was grateful at least that he didn't pull away as he often had in times past. She was tempted to wrap her arms around him and lay her head against his sturdy back. Instead, she patted his shoulder twice before letting her hand fall.

"Look, we've all had a long day. Why don't you camp out here on the couch? It's too long to drive back to your hotel tonight," Lisbon offered.

Before her hand had broken contact completely, Jane grabbed it, spun around to face her, and enveloped her in a hug.

"You know, that thing I said before I shot you, I meant it," he held her tightly as though his life depended on it.

Stunned and still trying to process the information, Lisbon barely had time to wrap her own arms around him before he pulled away again. She wanted to hug him back, to prolong it, but didn't want to scare him off. Like trying to earn the trust of a skittish animal, she knew it had to be in Jane's own time. His confession brought hope and, for now, she would have to find contentment in that.

"Are the sheets still in the same place," Jane asked.

Lisbon nodded her head, "Good night, Patrick."

She headed towards the stairs leading up to her bedroom. As she brushed past him, he grabbed her hand and gave her fingers at gentle squeeze.

"Thank you and good night, Tereza," Jane voiced his gratitude.

Lisbon gave him a small smile before turning to leave once more.

Rather than letting go of her hand, he tightened his grip, keeping her captive. She frowned up at him and saw the almost panicked look in his eyes. Closing the gap between them, he moved to kiss her, but, as though changing his mind at the last second, he kissed her cheek instead.

She felt his breath on her face as he whispered in her ear, "There's no place like home."

When he pulled away, his protective shield was once more in place and she had to wonder if it had merely been her imagination. Jane was the one who moved off to settle in for the night. Lisbon stared after him for a while before climbing the stairs for bed.

Thinking about the movie they'd just watched, she realized who Jane reminded her of the most. He might never have been a lawman, but Patrick Jane had a lot in common with Wyatt Cain. She wondered whether she would eventually be able to find her tin man his heart. Maybe that's why she liked the movie so much.

After that dream, she could certainly empathize with DG. After all, she was secretly a DG/Cain shipper. Perhaps she cheered on the fictional couple because she wanted a happy ending of her own… some day.

Goodbye, my friends, my tale's all told,

Although somewhere, beyond the horizon, the story never ends.

Vani Joy Dotson 2015


End file.
